Kokohore Japan
Kokohore Japan operates Nihon Keigyo Bank, a nationwide web-based marketplace matching retiring Japanese business owners in agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, and traditional crafts with individual successors across all 47 prefectures and 1,000+ municipalities, monetizing via municipality subscriptions, professional referrals, and crowdfunding partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersOkayama, Japan
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Kokohore Japan does
Kokohore Japan Co., Ltd. (ココホレジャパン株式会社) operates Nihon Keigyo Bank (ニホン継業バンク), a web-based nationwide business succession matching platform covering all 47 Japanese prefectures and 1,000+ municipalities. The platform connects retiring business owners (譲り手) — primarily in agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, and traditional crafts — with individuals seeking succession opportunities (継ぎ手), supporting diverse succession types including business transfer, successor recruitment, apprenticeship, side business, real estate succession, and experience programs. The core technology is a searchable listing directory with filters by region, industry, and succession method, paired with membership registration, chat/inquiry functionality, and email newsletters.
The company monetizes through a freemium model: free basic registration and browsing for succession seekers, with revenue derived from subscription-based municipality partnership pages, professional services referrals (lawyers, tax accountants, real estate agents, business succession specialists), a crowdfunding partnership with For Good!, and a microfinance partnership with Grameen Japan. Distribution is anchored by municipality-branded succession bank pages operated as quasi-official regional succession support services, supplemented by on-site support centers (e.g., the Niigata Succession Support Center in Tsunan Town), relocation and succession fairs in Tokyo, content marketing via the recurring 継ぐまち、継ぐひと series, and organic social media presence. The company is METI-registered under the M&A Support Provider Registration System and received the 2021 Good Design Award from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. Headquartered in Okayama City, it is privately held with no disclosed investors, no public listing, and no disclosed headcount or revenue figures.
Kokohore Japan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kokohore Japan
- Legal name
- ココホレジャパン株式会社
- Website
- https://keigyo.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Kokohore Japan operates Nihon Keigyo Bank, a nationwide web-based marketplace matching retiring Japanese business owners in agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, and traditional crafts with individual successors across all 47 prefectures and 1,000+ municipalities, monetizing via municipality subscriptions, professional referrals, and crowdfunding partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Kokohore Japan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Okayama
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kokohore Japan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Basic membership registration is free for individuals and businesses seeking succession. The platform generates revenue through membership services including email newsletters and premium features.
- Municipality/Organization Partnerships: Partnerships with local governments for municipality-specific succession bank pages. Autonomously operated service by Kokohore Japan, but positioned as official or semi-official regional succession support.
- Professional Services Referrals: Referral services connecting users with registered professionals including lawyers, tax accountants, judicial scriveners, real estate agents, small business consultants, and business succession specialists.
- Crowdfunding Support Services: Partnership with For Good! to provide crowdfunding support for succession cases, helping successors raise capital for business takeover.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free membership for succession seekers |
| Subscription | Annual | Municipality partnership pages |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Kokohore Japan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kokohore Japan operates Nihon Keigyo Bank (ニホン継業バンク), a nationwide web-based matching platform that connects retiring business owners (譲り手) with succession seekers (継ぎ手) across Japan. The platform aggregates listings from agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, tourism, and traditional crafts, and supports diverse succession types (事業承継, 後継ぎ求人, 弟子・インターン, 副業・兼業, 不動産承継, 体験). It partners with municipalities, professional advisors, and financing providers to facilitate and preserve regional businesses.
Product overview
Kokohore Japan operates 継業バンク (Keigyo Bank), a nationwide business succession matching platform that connects business owners seeking successors with prospective inheritors. The platform covers diverse industries including agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, and tourism across all regions of Japan, offering free membership registration and facilitating succession matching through its web platform. The service includes both a public version and municipality-official versions, with partnerships for crowdfunding support (For Good) and microfinance services (Grameen Japan).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ニホン継業バンク (Nihon Keigyo Bank / Japan Business Succession Bank) Nationwide web-based business succession matching platform covering all 47 Japanese prefectures. Connects retiring business owners (譲り手) with individuals wanting to inherit businesses (継ぎ手), with multi-dimensional search by region, industry (agriculture, manufacturing, food, retail, tourism, traditional crafts), and succession method (事業承継, 後継ぎ求人, 弟子・インターン, 副業・兼業, 不動産承継, 体験). Free membership and browsing, with email newsletter, favorites, chat, and LINE consultation features.
- 自治体版継業バンク (Municipal autonomous-version Keigyo Bank pages) Dedicated Keigyo Bank pages operated autonomously by Kokohore Japan on behalf of partnered municipalities (e.g., 北海道芦別市, 秋田県北秋田市, 新潟県津南町, 富山県南砺市, 兵庫県豊岡市). Promoted as '自治体版継業バンク' for local business succession support.
- 承継サポートセンター (On-site Succession Support Center) Physical, on-site succession support center operated in partnership with municipalities, providing in-person business succession consultation and matching support. Example: 新潟承継サポートセンター in Tsunan Town (津南町), Niigata Prefecture.
- 専門家紹介ネットワーク (Registered Professional Referral Network) Network of registered professionals who provide consultation services to platform users, including 弁護士 (lawyers), 税理士 (tax accountants), 司法書士 (judicial scriveners), 不動産事業者 (real estate agents), 中小企業診断士 (SME consultants), and 事業承継士 (business succession specialists).
- For Good! クラウドファンディング連携 (For Good! Crowdfunding Partnership) Crowdfunding partnership that helps successors raise capital for business takeover, new product development, or facility renovation after succession through For Good!, a social-good crowdfunding platform.
- グラミン日本マイクロファイナンス連携 (Grameen Japan Microfinance Partnership) Microfinance partnership that provides small loans for succession candidates who may have difficulty accessing traditional financing. Supports self-reliance and diverse regional talent development through succession.
Quantifiable outcome
- Registered with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (中小企业庁 M&A支援機関登録制度)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Kokohore Japan
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Kokohore Japan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
Kokohore Japan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and supporting.
- 秋田県北秋田市 (Kitaakita City)corePartnership for the '北秋田市継業バンク' page promoting succession of traditional crafts (秋田八丈, 杉桶樽), agriculture, and local businesses. Co-hosts relocation and succession events in Tokyo.
- 新潟県津南町 (Tsunan Town)corePartnership to operate the '津南町継業バンク' municipality page and establish the '新潟継業サポートセンター' in Tsunan Town. Provides succession consultations, business matching support, and local industry preservation activities. Monthly succession consultation meetings held every first Thursday.
- 北海道芦別市 (Ashibetsu City)corePartnership for municipal succession bank page featuring local businesses including restaurants and service businesses seeking successors.
- 秋田県能代市 (Noshiro City)corePartnership for '能代市継業バンク' page featuring 10+ listings including traditional crafts like 紫根染め, confectionery shops, and other local businesses.
- 富山県南砺市 (Nanto City)corePartnership for '南砺市継業バンク' page featuring 6+ listings including traditional crafts (和紙漉き), confectionery, and regional businesses.
- 兵庫県豊岡市 (Toyooka City)corePartnership for '豊岡市継業バンク' page with 18+ listings including confectionery, hotels, traditional crafts (但馬ちりめん), and agriculture.
- 中小企業庁 (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)coreRegistered under the M&A支援機関登録制度 (M&A Support Organization Registration System), complying with government standards for business succession support.
- For Good!strategicSocial-good crowdfunding platform partnership providing financial support for succession cases. Helps successors raise capital through crowdfunding for business takeover, new product development, or facility renovation after succession.
- Registered Professionals NetworksupportingNetwork of registered professionals including lawyers (弁護士), tax accountants (税理士), judicial scriveners (司法書士), real estate agents (不動産事業者), small business consultants (中小企業診断士), and business succession specialists (事業継承士) who provide consultation services to platform users.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kokohore Japan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- M&A Capital Partners (M&Aキャピタルパートナーズ): Listed M&A advisory firm specializing in SMB succession transactions across Japan. While operating on a traditional advisory model rather than marketplace, it competes for the same underlying succession transactions and municipal referral channels.
- Japan M&A Center (日本M&Aセンター): Japan's largest listed M&A intermediary, handling thousands of small and mid-cap business succession transactions annually. As the dominant incumbent in Japanese business succession M&A, it sets pricing benchmarks and shapes policy frameworks that influence platforms like Kokohore.
Direct peers
- BizReach M&A (ビズリーチM&A): Operated by Visional, BizReach M&A is a registered M&A intermediary platform matching SMEs with potential successors, particularly emphasizing high-revenue businesses. It directly competes for succession-seeker demand and is registered under the same METI support framework as Kokohore.
- Tranbi (トランビ): Tranbi is Japan's largest online marketplace for small business M&A and succession, directly matching business owners with potential successors. It is the closest direct competitor to Nihon Keigyo Bank, with overlapping target customers (SMB owners and succession seekers) and a similar freemium/listing-fee revenue model.
Regional players
- Relo Club (リロクラブ): Japan-based corporate-backed platform supporting employee relocation to rural and regional areas, including lifestyle migration. It overlaps thematically with Kokohore's urban-to-rural successor pipeline, though not in business succession matching directly.
Others
- Furusato Kaiki Support Center (ふるさと回帰支援センター): Tokyo-based non-profit promoting rural relocation, including migration motivated by business succession. It overlaps with Kokohore's "succession seeker" persona (urban residents relocating to take over rural businesses) and can be a complementary channel or partner.
- Business Succession Handover Center (事業承継・引継ぎ支援センター): Government-affiliated free succession support centers operated under METI's framework across Japan's prefectures, providing advisory services to SMEs facing succession. They function as both a referral source and an indirect competitor for matching services offered by Kokohore.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kokohore Japan social profiles
Digital presenceKokohore Japan compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Kokohore Japan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kokohore Japan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Kokohore Japan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kokohore Japan M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kokohore Japan
What does Kokohore Japan do?
Kokohore Japan operates Nihon Keigyo Bank (ニホン継業バンク), a nationwide web-based matching platform that connects retiring business owners (譲り手) with succession seekers (継ぎ手) across Japan. The platform aggregates listings from agriculture, manufacturing, food service, retail, tourism, and traditional crafts, and supports diverse succession types (事業承継, 後継ぎ求人, 弟子・インターン, 副業・兼業, 不動産承継, 体験). It partners with municipalities, professional advisors, and financing providers to facilitate and preserve regional businesses.
Is Kokohore Japan a public or private company?
Kokohore Japan is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kokohore Japan founded?
Kokohore Japan was founded in -1.
Where is Kokohore Japan based?
Kokohore Japan is headquartered in Okayama, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Kokohore Japan make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are municipality/Organization Partnerships, professional Services Referrals and crowdfunding Support Services.
Who are Kokohore Japan's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are M&A Capital Partners (M&Aキャピタルパートナーズ) and Japan M&A Center (日本M&Aセンター). Direct peers are BizReach M&A (ビズリーチM&A) and Tranbi (トランビ). Relo Club (リロクラブ) is listed as a regional player. Others are Furusato Kaiki Support Center (ふるさと回帰支援センター) and Business Succession Handover Center (事業承継・引継ぎ支援センター).
Does Kokohore Japan have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kokohore Japan.